Just got my Sonlight binders put together & I'm not feeling the warm fuzzy

[8circles]

I would post this on SL's forums but they're down until next week & we were intending to start next week.

 

I watched the videos on SL & they must be older versions of the IGs because what I have doesn't match what they said.

 

So, I've got the first 15 weeks (that's all the dividers I had- I didn't buy theirs) separated by week for the core/la/science. As I understand it the study guides for history & read-alouds are to be kept whole in one section apart from the weekly sections, right? That seems so cumbersome. Why couldn't they print the study guides in the weekly format - or am I missing something? I just hate having to constantly flip back & forth. :thumbdown:

[swellmomma]

I just take the pages needed for the week and add them to the binder behind the schedule for that week. I do not keep them separate. It makes it way easier for me to use them this way.

[Muffin]

To me, it's easier to keep all of the subjects separate :blush5: (I'm sorry--I know you just finished separating them). It's confusing when you're doing SL Core and SL LA to keep them in the same binder, as you will have overlapping assignments. Your study guides would just stay with the rest of the subject.

 

Also, when you keep each subject separate you can go at your own pace (reading whole chapters, or longer sections of books, i.e.) without having to keep flipping through the "all in one" binder. We thought it was easier to do chunks of work instead of bits of work and reserve some subjects for one day a week (science on Thursdays, i.e.).:)

[MerryAtHope]

I always went through and put the notes behind the weekly dividers when my kids were younger (although honestly I mostly used the schedule & not the notes). Now that my son is in HS and I rely on the notes more, I actually like that they are in different tabs, but I don't keep everything in the big-huge binder. I use that for storage and use a half inch working binder. I have one divider where I put 4 weeks worth of the Core schedule. Then I have subject dividers for history and Lit. I put whatever history or lit guides we will use in those 4 weeks behind the tabs, and I use a Sticky Tab to mark our place, so I can easily turn to wherever we left off with the questions last time. It's much easier to use a small working binder and not have so much to flip through--I can flip easily right to what I need. About once a month I switch out the materials.

 

I hope you can find a way to set things up that will work for you!

 

Merry :-)

[8circles]

Thanks all!

 

I'm just going to start with how it is & be really open to tweaking as we go.

[ZooRho]

the study quides are seperate because sometimes the books change that means they don't have to rework the whole thing but can just change some orders.

 

the book guides are always alphabetical.

 

I always just pulled out about 6 weeks of work /ig pages and put them in a smaller folder to deal with them easily.

[8circles]

the study quides are seperate because sometimes the books change that means they don't have to rework the whole thing but can just change some orders.

Aha. That totally makes sense. At least now I understand.

the book guides are always alphabetical.

Good to know.

I always just pulled out about 6 weeks of work /ig pages and put them in a smaller folder to deal with them easily.

I'm thinking this may work really well for me too.

[Lady Marmalade]

Make yourself a "working binder". Lugging that monster binder around every day is really not a good time. Most SLers make a working binder, putting 1-6 weeks worth of core in a seperate (read:much smaller) binder to work out of everyday. Personally, I put one week at a time in my binder, but I know many people do 2 or more.

 

Then you can pull out the study guides that you need for the week and put them right with your IG pages.

[Lady Marmalade]

 

I was so upset' date=' I WANTED to love it, but I just couldn't love this IG... SO I moved everything but 1 week back to the big binder... hey that helped! I still wasn't in love AND I wanted somewhere to write down other things.. math, my science (not using theirs), Art, Music, etc. I did not want to write on the IG.

[/quote']

 

Do you have a copier? I photocopy my IG pages so that I can feel free to mark them up big time- and then still have them in great shape for the next romp through the core.

 

Hmm, I'm having trouble posting a picture on here, but here is a link to a picture I took last year of my IG and what it looked like for us every week.

 

 

[ZooRho]

I'm thinking this may work really well for me too.

Glad that helped.

[ZooRho]

Do you have a copier? I photocopy my IG pages so that I can feel free to mark them up big time- and then still have them in great shape for the next romp through the core.

 

Hmm, I'm having trouble posting a picture on here, but here is a link to a picture I took last year of my IG and what it looked like for us every week.

 

 

I don't have to show proof to anyone so I have put the weekly page in a sheet protector so I can check things off.

[SnMomof7]

I do a 9 week working binder - I collate everything behind the appropriate week.

 

The warm fuzzies don't start until you actually start USING the books together ;).

 

DD said two days ago, "This is my favorite part of homeschooling." during our read together time :).

[ThreeBlessings]

momoflaw- I hope SL works out for you. :) I think writing out your own schedule and incorporating SL is a good idea! This will be my first year (using it secularly) and I bought used. It did come with the binder and numbered tabs, which is really nice. It is Core 100, Lit and History only, and I decided to stretch it out for two years due to my children's ages. I divided the Core into two big binders and added quite a bit of Lit and Lit study guides. I didn't write out my own for daily like pp suggested (good idea!) but I did write out plans for the rest of the subjects separately. I have one binder with our weekly plans for the whole year that does include the Lit plans, the SL binder for History, a third binder which is my working teacher's guide, and a fourth binder with just a week's worth of SL in it, including the Lit and History guides I'll need. I keep plans for the week we're on and other papers I'll need for the week in the teacher's guide, such as Lit guides and lesson plans for Science and Math. The kids' also have a weekly binder with their papers for the week. I really will only need the two binders for daily use. I haven't used the systen though, so we'll see how I like it! I am having the warm fuzzy feeling. :)

Edited August 28, 2011 by ThreeBlessings

[ThreeBlessings]

I do a 9 week working binder - I collate everything behind the appropriate week.

 

The warm fuzzies don't start until you actually start USING the books together ;).

 

DD said two days ago, "This is my favorite part of homeschooling." during our read together time :).

 

I like the idea of having a quarterly binder, I may have to try that. Thanks!

[Colleen]

As I understand it the study guides for history & read-alouds are to be kept whole in one section apart from the weekly sections, right?

There's no one (or two, or three...) "right" ways to organize your binder. Every suggestion is just that, a suggestion. Like many others, I've always organized my binders by placing study guide pages (which I use very seldom in the lower levels anyway) directly behind the week in which those particular books are read. If the book extends beyond a week, I move the pages to the next week. This is within what I deem my "working binder", which generally contains 3-6 weeks worth of work. My "big binder" contains the scheduling pages & guides/notes that we aren't using.

 

It will get easier. (And just when you think you have it all figured out, you'll be using upper-level Cores, which are another animal. But that's another story.:D) Best to you. Enjoy!

[smilesonly]

I always went through and put the notes behind the weekly dividers when my kids were younger (although honestly I mostly used the schedule & not the notes). Now that my son is in HS and I rely on the notes more, I actually like that they are in different tabs, but I don't keep everything in the big-huge binder. I use that for storage and use a half inch working binder. I have one divider where I put 4 weeks worth of the Core schedule. Then I have subject dividers for history and Lit. I put whatever history or lit guides we will use in those 4 weeks behind the tabs, and I use a Sticky Tab to mark our place, so I can easily turn to wherever we left off with the questions last time. It's much easier to use a small working binder and not have so much to flip through--I can flip easily right to what I need. About once a month I switch out the materials.

 

I hope you can find a way to set things up that will work for you!

 

Merry :-)

 

Not the OP but....

 

Very helpful, Merry! Thank you!:grouphug: :D

[mschickie]

What I do is put all the weekly schedule sheets (core, LA, Science) behind each week. I keep those in the big blue binder. I then use a second binder for all the appendixes/study guides. For the history ones I actually made up individual dividers this year for the different books. It makes it easier to find since you flip around alot with them. For the read alouds and the readers I just use a tape flag for that week. I leave the blue binder open on the table and then only open the other one when we need it during the day. This seems to work really well for us.